Many electronic applications use copper bond wire instead of gold bond wire due to the lower cost of copper compared to gold. Although the thermal and electrical conductivity of copper is higher than gold, copper suffers from reliability issues due to its poor resistance against oxidation and corrosion. To reduce oxidation and corrosion, some copper wire is coated with palladium. Palladium is expensive, adding to fabrication costs of the electronic applications. Alternatively, bare copper wire is sometimes used, which requires special packaging during storage, and necessitates wire bonding in the presence of a reducing gas, adding to the fabrication costs.